Repeating firearm



v. A. BROWNING 2,409,733

REPEATING FIREARM 2 sheets-sheet 1' Filed- July 18, 1945 wm INN a a Oct.22, 1946. v. A. BRowNlNG REPEATING FIREARM Filed July 18, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 2 EEA l/d/ A. rowing Patented Oct. 22, 1946 REPEATINGFIREARM Val A. Browning, Ogden, Utah, assigner to J. M. & M. S. BrowningCompany, Ogden, Utah, a

corporation of Utah Application July 1s, 1945, serial No. 605,774

10 Claims.

This invention relates'to firearms of the selfloading, recoil-operatedtype wherein the barrel and breech block are locked together by alocking block with which is associated an inertia member adapted, duringrecoil movement of the barrel extension, to unlock the locking blockfrom the barrel, and the invention has particular reference to the meansor arrangement for operating the locking block.

'I'he aim of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement foroperating the locking block which will permit reduction in weight of theinertia member, thus lightening the gun; which eliminates certain Vpartsheretofore used, thus effecting economy in manufacture andassembly, andwhich will result in a more positive action.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown one embodiment whichthe present invention may take:

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken generally longitudinally andvertically through the rearm with the parts illustrated in nringposition;

Fig. 2 is a similar view but showing the'parts in position at which thelocking :block is about to be disengaged from the barrel extensionduring recoil of the latter; and

Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the position which the parts haveduring forward movement of the ibreech block.

In the drawings, I have shown, f or illustrative purposes only, theimprovements of the present invention incorporated in a rearm such as'is illustrated and disclosed in my copending application Serial No.555,941, liled September 24, 1944, it being understood, however, thatsuch a showing is by way of example only and not by way of limitation.Only so much of the firearm is illustrated as is necessary for anunderstanding of the present invention, the cartridge carrier fortransferring cartridges from the magazine to the barrel extension andthe trigger mechanism being omitted as they may be of any suitableconstruction so far as the present invention is concerned.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the rearm is"shown as" having aframe or receiver I and abarrel II. The barrel has a barrel extension I2mounted for reciprocating movement within the receiver. Below the barrelis a cylindrical magazine I4 from therear end of which the Vshells aretransferred, as by means of acarrierinot shown), to the chamber offthebarrel extension. Yrissrociated with the barrel aresuitable ngres ,forreiarding the recoil mevneei f 2 the barrel and then restoring thelbarrel to its firing position upon ring the firearm. This means mayconveniently take the form of a recoil spring I5, only a portion ofwhich is shown in the present instance as encircling the magazine.Extending downwardly and rearwardly from the rear end of the receiver isa tube I6 within which is mounted an inertia member I'l. Behind theinertia member is an action spring I8.

Mounted within the receiver I is a breech block I9 which carries thefiring pin Z. The receiver is provided in its side walls withlongitudinally extending grooves 2l for guiding the breech block in itsreciprocating movements. Carried by the breech block is locking block`22having a rearwardly facing locking shoulder 23. The barrel extension I2has anopening in its upperwall provided at its rear end with a foiwardlyfacing shoulder 24 with which the shoulder on the locking iblock isadapted to engage, as shown in Fie. 1'. The locking block is pivoted atits upper rear corner to the 'breech block for swinging movement in anysuitable manner, as by means of arcuate lugs 25 vextending from theopposite sides of the locking block and, engaging in arcuate grooves 26in side walls of the breech block. 'The locking block swings relative tothe breech block about a centeror point indicated by the letter a. yThelocking block is slotted on its u nder side so as to accommodate thefiring pin 20, the spring 21 thereabout, and the forward end of a vlink35 which constitutes the connection between the locking block andtheinertia memlber.

In the present illustrative disclosure, the rear end of the link 35 ispivotally connected to the forward end of the inertia member or guidepiece I1 by means of'a parti-cylindrical head 36 engaging in a similarlyshaped transverse groove in the forward end of the inertia member. Thelink is pivoted Ibetween its ends to the rear lower corner of thelocking block, as by means of a pin 31. The link, forwardly of thispin,`has an'a'rm or finger 33. The breech block has, on the rear face'ofits forward wall, an upwardly and rearwardly inclined cam surface'39with which the forward end of the nger 38 is adapted t'o cooperate uponrecoil of the barrel, as hereinafter explained more in detail. This faceof the'breech block further has a rearwardly facing abutment 48 leadingvertically from the upper -end of the cam surface 33, and the forwardend of the finger 38 cooperates with this abutment during'the forwardmovement of the breech block, as will be later explained. f

The parts described are normally in the firing position shown in Fig. l.When the parts are in this position, the action spring I8, through itsforward pressure on the inertia member Il, forces the inertia member,the link 35, and, through the locking block 22, the breech block i9together so that these parts act as an integral mass to close the breechand maintain the firearm in locked position when the same is fired. Thepivot pin 3l is slightly forward of the pivot point a of the lockingblock. When a .shell is fired within the firing chamber, the power gasesgenerated act against the forward face of the breech block and cause thebarrel, the breech block, the link,.and the inertia member to moverapidly rearwardly in recoil. At the instant of firing, the pressure ofthe gases builds up very rapidly so that the barrel and breech block inlocked condition aredriven.V

backwardly through an extremely small distance with an acceleratingmovement and then, as the seen from Fig. l, when the parts are in firingposition, the forward end of the cam finger of the link is slightlyspaced from the lower end of the cam surface so that this finger willnot engage the cam surface until after the parts start to decelerate.During the accelerating movement of the parts, the link and the inertiamember, due to their mass and their tendency to remain in a state ofrest, will move rearwardly with the breech block acting in the nature ofan integral mass so that, during such portion of the recoil movement,the locking block will be securely retained in locked relation to thebarrel. As the barrel starts to decelerate, the forward end of thefinger 38 will be raised into engagement with the cam surface 39 due tothe fact that the link is pivoted between its ends to the locking block,and the rear end of the link is moving downwardly and rearwardly owingto its connection with the inertia member. ThisV results in a rearwardmovement of the link and inertia member with respect to the recoilingbarrel extension and, as the link is pivotally connected with thelocking block, the latter is carnmed downwardly and rearwardly withrespect to the shoulder on the barrel extension. In Fig. 2, this cammingaction is shown as having been substantially completed. At this time,the recoil movement of the barrel is about stopped but the recoil forceof the link and inertia member causes these parts to continue to moverearwardly against the force of the action spring with the result thatthe locking block is entirely disengaged from the barrel extension. Itwill be understood that the camming action between the finger of thelink and the cam surface on the breech block imparts ,to the link andinertia member a rearward movement with respect to the barrel, and thisforce, added to the recoil force of these parts, causes an accelerationof the link and inertia member over the rearward movement of the barrelextension so that the inertia member is effective to insure completedisengagement of the locking block from the barrel extension andcontinued movement of thebreech block to its full rearward positionafter the locking block is disengaged from the barrel extension, Owingto the fact that the engagement of the cam nger of the link with the camsurface on the breech block, while thebarrel extension, breech block,

link, and inertia member are recoiling rearwardly' substantially as aunit, causes the inertia member and link to move faster than therearwardly recoiling barrel extension at the time of disengagement ofthe locking block from the barrel extension, such increased velocitypermits of the use of a lighter inertia member. This is particularlyadvantageous in small gauge Shotguns where light weight is highlydesirable.

The breech block and associated parts having' recoiled to their rearmostposition, the action spring will now return the breech block forwardlyto its firing position and, during such movement, the action springtends to throw the locking block upwardly. Heretofore, a separatelatching lock'has been employed for latching the locking block in downposition with respect to the breechY ment, such locking latch iseliminated. With thisA arrangement, the locking block is held down ornearly so to its lowermost position during the return or forwardmovement of the breech block due to the engagement of the forward end ofthe cam linger against the rearwardly facing abutment 40 on the breechblock. During such movement, the pivot pin 3l is slightly behind thevertical plane which includes the pivot point a of the locking block,and the engagement of the nger against the abutment prevents the actionspring from swinging the locking block upwardly and forwardly. Also,during such movement, the ringer is prevented from moving up against thering pin spring 2. Actually, the locking block is held downwardly insuch position that it might have a slight wiping action against the rearend of the extension. As the breech block moves to its full closedposition, the forward end of the link will swing downwardly to theposition shown in Fig. 1.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

I claim as my invention: v

1. In a recoil-operated firearm of the character described, a receiver,a barrel having a barrel extension member mounted for reciprocation inthe receiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech'block membercarried by said rereceiver and mounted for reciprocation therein, alocking block movably carried by said breech v block member and having ashoulder arranged to engage said first-mentioned shoulder when thebreech block member is locked to the barrel extension, an inertia membermounted for reciprocation at the rear end of Athe receiver, a linkpivotally connected to said locking block and inertia' described, areceiver, a barrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocationin the receiver and `provided with a locking shoulder, a breech Vblockcarried by said receiver and mounted for reciproca-tion therein, alocking block movably carried by said breech block and having a shou.-der arranged to engage said first-mentioned shoulder when the breechblock is locked to the barrel extension, an inertia member mounted forreciprocation at the rear end of the receiver, a link pivotallyconnected to said locking block and inertia member, and interengagingmeans between the link and breech block for moving the locking blocktowards unlocked position and imparting added velocity to the link andinertia member upon recoil movement of the barrel extension.

3. In a recoil-operated firearm of the character described, a receiver,a barrel having a barrel extension rmounted for reciprocation in thereceiver and provided with :a locking shoulder, a breech block carriedby said receiver and mounted for reciprocation therein, a locking blockmovably carried by said breech block and having a shoulder 1arranged toengage said first-mentioned shoulder when the breech block is locked tothe barrel extension, an inertia member mounted for reciprocation at therear end of the receiver, and a link pivotally connected to said lockingblock and inertia member, said link and breech block havinginterengageable portions for moving the locking block towards unlockedposition and imparting added velocity to the link and inertia memberupon recoil movement of .the barrel eX- tension.

4. In a recoil-operated firearm of the character described, a receiver,a barrel having a barrel eX- tension mounted for reciprocation in thereceiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech block carried bythe receiver and mounted for reciprocation therein, a locking blockpivotally carried by the breech block and having a shoulder arranged toengage with said first-mentioned shoulder when the breech block islocked to said barrel extension, a guide extending downwardly andrearwardly from the rear end of said receiver, an inertia member mountedfor reciprocation in said guide, and a link pivoted at its rear end tosaid inertia member and between its ends to said locking block, theforward end of said link being engageable with said breech block uponrecoil movement of the barrel extension to effect an unlocking movementof the locking block and a rearward movement of the link and inertiamember relative to the rearwardly recoiling barrel extension.

5. In a recoil-operated firearm of the character described, a receiver,a barrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation in thereceiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech block carried bythe receiver and mounted for reciprocation therein and having anupwardly and rearwardly inclined surface, a locking block pivotallycarried by the breech block and having a shoulder arranged to engagewith said rstmentioned shoulder when the breech block is locked to saidbarrel extension, a guide extending downwardly and rearwardly from therear end of said receiver, an inertia member mounted for reciprocationin said guide, and a link pivoted at its rear end to said inertia member`and between its ends to said locking block, the forward end of saidlink being engageable with said surface on said breech block upon recoilmovement of the barrel extension to effect an unlocking movement of thelocking block and a rearward movement of the link and inertia memberrelative to the rearwardly recoiling barrel extension.

r6. VIn a recoil-operated rearmof the character described, a receiver, abarrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation in thereceiver and provided with na locking shoulder, a breech block carriedby said receiver and mounted vfor reciprocation therein, a locking blockmovably carried by said breech block and having va shoulder arranged toengage said first-mentioned shoulder, an inertia member mounted forrecipr rocation at the rear end of the receiver, `a link pivotallyconnected to said locking block and inertia member, and interengagingmeans between the `link and breech block for moving the locking blocktowards unlocked position and imparting added velocity to the link vandvinertia ,member upon recoil movement of the barrel extension and formaintaining the locking'block in unlocked position during the forwardmovement of the breech block.

'7. In a recoil-operated rearm of the character described, a receiver, abarrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation in thereceiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech block carried bythe receiver and mounted for reciprocation therein, a locking blockpivotally carried by the breech block and having a shoulder arranged toengage with said first-mentioned shoulder, a guide extending downwardlyand rearwardly from the rear end of said receiver, an inertia membermounted for reciprocation in said guide, and a link pivoted at its rearend to said inertia member and between its ends to said locking block,the forward end of said link being engageable with said breech blockupon recoil of the barrel extension to eifect a rearward movement of thelink and inertia member relative to the rearwardly recoiling barrelextension, the forward end of said link being also engageable with saidbreech block upon forward movement of the breech block to maintain thelocking block in unlocked position until the breech block hassubstantially reached its foremost position.

8. In a recoil-operated firearm of the character described, a receiver,a barrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation in thereceiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech block carried bythe receiver and mounted for reciprocation therein, said breech blockhaving an upwardly and rearwardly inclined surface and a rearwardlyfacing abutment leading upwardly from the upper end of said surface, alocking block pivotally carried by the breech block and having ashoulder engageable with said firstmentioned shoulder, a guide extendingdownwardly and rearwardly from the rear end of the receiver, an inertiamember mounted for reciprocation in said guide, and a link pivoted atits rear end to said inertia member and between its ends to said lockingblock, the forward end of said link being engageable with said inclinedsurface upon recoil movement of the barrel extension to effect anunlocking movement of the locking block and a rearward movement of thelink and inertia member relative to the rearwardly recoiling barrelextension, and said forward end of said link being engageable with saidabutment during the forward movement of the breech block to maintain thelocking block in unlocked position until the breech block hassubstantially reached its foremost position.

9. In a recoil-operated firearm of the character described, a receiver,a barrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation inthereceiver and provided with a forwardly facing locking shoulder, a breechblock carried by the receiver and mounted for reciprocation therein, alockingblock pivoted at its rear upper corner to the breech block andhaving a rearwardly facing shoulder forwardly of its pivot and arrangedto engage said first-mentioned shoulder when the breech block is lockedto the barrel extension, a guide extending downwardly and rearwardlyfrom the rear end of the receiver, an inertia member mounted forreciprocation in said guide, an action spring behind said inertiamember, and a link pivoted at its rear end to said inertia member andbetween its ends to said locking block at a point substantially belowthe pvot of the locking block when the parts are in ring position, saidlink having an arm extending forwardly of its pivot with the lockingblock, said breech block having an upwardly and rearwardly inclinedsurface and a rearwardly facing shoulder extending upwardly from theupper end of said surface, said surface being engaged with the forwardend of said arm upon recoil of the barrel extension to effect anunlocking movement of the locking block and a rearward movement of thelink and inertia member relative to the rearwardly recoiling barrelextension, and the forward end of said arm 8 being engaged with saidabutment during forward movement ofthe breech block to maintain thelocking block in unlocked position until the breech block hassubstantially reached its foremost position.

10. In a recoil-operated firearm of the chary acter described, areceiver, a barrel having a barrel extension member mounted forreciprocation in the receiver and provided with a locking shoulder, abreech block member carried by the receiver and mounted forreciprocation therein, a locking block movably carried by said breechblock member and having a shoulder arranged to engage saidfirst-mentioned shoulder When the breech block member is locked to thebarrel extension member, a guide piece mounted for reoiprocation at therear end of the receiver on a li-ne at an angle to the line ofreciprocation of the breech block member, a link pivotally connected tosaid locking block and guide piece and arranged to pivot relative to thelocking block upon recoil movement of the barrel extension member, andinterengaging means between the link and one of said members for movingthe locking block towards unlocked position and imparting added velocityto the link and guide piece upon recoil movement of the barrel extensionmember.

VAL A. BROWNING.

